Mary Eleanore (Simpson) Guliuzza
Mary Eleanore (Simpson) Guliuzza, 80, of Sun Lakes, AZ, passed away February 21 surrounded by her children and her husband of 62 years, Frank Guliuzza, Jr.
Mary was born January 13, 1938, in West Mansfield, OH, to Paul and Mary (Hansen) Simpson. In 1956, Mary married Frank Guliuzza and raised three wonderful children. She dedicated her life to demonstrating loving care to them, her husband and extended family.
Mary selflessly gave of her life to others. She volunteered at the VA hospital and assisted multiple sclerosis patients and was totally committed to help patients rehabilitate. She was loved by them and often made close and lasting friendships. Mary was a talented artist, investing significant time in her diverse crafts which became cherished gifts for family and friends. Likewise, Mary was passionate about encouraging others with calls, cards and visits which conveyed her sunny disposition, laughter and love.
She fully supported her husband as he served in the U.S. Air Force, including many years at F.E. Warren, and assisted with squadron support efforts. Mary was a faithful mother and rock of stability when Frank was in Vietnam or deployed abroad. Sheltered within her unwavering loyalty and dependability, her children thrived.
She is survived by husband Frank, sons Frank (Ann) and Randy (June), daughter Robin Parkins (Chuck), five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by two sisters, Patty (Simpson) Caserta and Jeanette (Simpson) Hood.
She will be greatly missed and remembered fondly by many.
Services and burial are pending.
William “Bill” Luffman
William “Bill” Luffman passed away February 8, 2018, in Arizona. He was born April 30, 1933, in Lyons, NY, and grew up in Waterloo, NY. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He later worked for 30 years at General Motors in Michigan as an engineer.
After many years of visiting Arizona to escape the cold Midwest winters, Bill and his wife Patt decided to retire to Sun Lakes, AZ, where they have lived for the past 30 years. During the early years in Arizona, they were both very active in the Sun Lakes Country Dance Club. In his spare time, Bill enjoyed many other activities including hiking, tennis, pool (billiards) and golfing. His true passion was hiking, whether it be at the local park, the trails of South Mountain in Phoenix or the depths of the Grand Canyon. He was the hike coordinator for the Sun Lakes Hiking Club for 10 years and later hiked with the Retreads.
Bill was a loving husband, dad and grandfather. And as stated so well by one of his fellow hikers, “Bill was a warm, caring and gentle soul.”
Bill is survived by his wife Patt of 59-1/2 years, daughter Karen Luffman, daughter Lisa Robinson and husband Brad, along with five grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Marie, brother Bob, and sister Maggie Evinczik and husband Paul.
Bill will be forever in our hearts.
James E. Swanson
James E. Swanson passed away on February 20, 2018. He was born on April 30, 1939. Jim fought a very brave battle with cancer right up until the end. He passed away peacefully in his home in Arizona with his wife Bobbi, his twin brother Jerry and his beloved little Scotty Terriers, Mr. McGee and Mr. McGoo.
He is survived by his wife Roberta “Bobbi”, son Brian of Westlake Village, CA, daughter Robin Vukonich of Colombia Falls, MT, step-daughters Stephanie Coffey, Lori Coffey and step-son Mark Coffey all of California. He is also survived by seven grandchildren; Mason, Elizabeth, Danielle, Cale, Taylor, Jeremy and Sarah and one great-granddaughter Eloise and many nieces and nephews. His parents, James W. and Helen Swanson, son Troy Swanson, daughters Kim Swanson and Mary Louise Swanson, grandson Jake Swanson and brother William “Billy” Swanson preceded him in death. His surviving siblings are Kathryn Shamon (Richard) of Austin, TX; his twin brother Jerome (Mary) of Galesburg, IL; sisters Mary Helen (Bob) and Anne Elizabeth both of Galesburg, IL; brother Kerry (Debbie) who resides in Wake Forrest, NC and brother Thomas (Sue) who lives in Munoz, Philippines.
Jim graduated in 1957 from Corpus Christi High School in Galesburg, IL. After graduation, he joined the family business, Swanson Electric. In 1981 he relocated to Southern California and started his own business – J.E. Swanson, Inc., which he operated until he retired in 2006.
Jim was a loving husband, father and grandfather, a man of faith who loved the Lord and was an inspiration to all of us. Jim will be dearly missed by everyone who knew and loved him.
Cremation was accorded and scattering of his ashes will be at a later date. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held on his birthday.
Donations in Jim’s name can be made to the Humane Society or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Joan Ellen (Sell) Mullen
Joan Ellen (Sell) Mullen, 78, died Tuesday, February 20, 2018, peacefully at the Chandler Regional Hospital Chandler, AZ, after a long illness. She was accompanied by her husband Floyd and sons Patrick and Craig. She was born on April 24, 1939, to the late Roy (Shiner) Sell and Madeline (LeCloux) Sell in Green Bay, WI. She graduated from Algoma High School in 1957 and attended Spencerian Business College in Milwaukee, WI, the following year.
Joan married Floyd Mullen, the love of her life and best friend, on June 22, 1963. They spent five years in Milwaukee, one year in Dearborn, MI, and then moved to Winona, MN, in 1969. There she gave birth to two sons, Patrick and Craig. After another move to Tempe, AZ, in 1976, they returned and again settled in Winona. In 1983, both Joan and Floyd were involved in a start-up company called Riverside Electronics. She worked as an administrative assistant at Riverside until retiring in 1993.
Upon retiring, the family moved to Sun Lakes, AZ, for the winters and to Cecil, WI, for the summers to spend time with her twin sister Jean and Jean’s husband John Nenahlo. She spent the following years in Sun Lakes, AZ, and Cecil, WI, until her sister died in 2004. The summers were then spent in Green Bay, WI, and winters in Sun Lakes until her death on February 20, 2018.
Joan enjoyed dancing, cooking and entertaining friends, and spent some time at casinos. She especially enjoyed Christmas with the family and friends. Her fondest memories were of Christmas parties in Winona and summers at the lake house in Cecil with her sisters Jean and Janet and another “sister” from another mother, childhood friend Diane Junio and Diane’s husband Fran.
Joan is survived by her husband Floyd; sons Patrick and wife Sandra Mullen of Eagle River, AK, and Craig and wife Marla Mullen of Chandler, AZ; grandchildren Nicole, Alex, Jack, Ryan, Shayna and Skyler; sister Janet (Sell) and husband Bruce Charles; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins in the Green Bay area. Joan was preceded in death by her mother and father, Madeline and Roy Sell, and her twin sister Jean.
Nick J. Osborne
Nick Osborne (86) passed away on January 28, 2018, at his home in Allyn, WA, with his wife Sylvia next to him. He was born in Kamiah, ID, to Jim and Laura Osborne on October 26, 1931. He attended Kamiah High School and Boise State before joining the Navy during the Korean War. Nick served from September, 1950, to July, 1954, with the Patrol Squadron Seven based at Quonset Point, RI. While he was based in Rhode Island, he worked part time as a singing waiter, and he actually sang for President Truman there.
On February 3, 1957, Nick married Patricia Ann Michalack in Colorado Springs, and they were blessed with two daughters and a son. He remarried on June 11, 1983, to Sylvia Dybvik White, and he gained another “daughter” and “son” by welcoming them into his life along with Sylvia.
Nick worked in the aerospace industry, first for Boeing, then J.D. Ott Company and served as the General Manager for Metal Form, Inc., before retiring from Modern Manufacturing in 1998, all companies located in the Seattle area.
Nick was best known for being everybody’s friend. Nick loved his family, his children, his wife and his grandchildren and would reminisce about the many years of the fun times in raising the kids and the family times at their cabin at Carlyon Beach, Olympia. Nick was a storyteller and had many stories to tell, some real and some questionable – but we all loved his stories.
Nick was laid to rest on February 13, 2018, at Tahoma National Cemetery and given a final tribute by The American Legion Honor Guard of Renton, WA. A memorial service was held on March 10, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. in Allyn, WA, at North Bay Lutheran Community Church.
Nick is survived by his wife of 35 years, Sylvia, his daughters Dee Vinson and Donna Collins, son David Osborne, stepdaughter Stephanie Hager and stepson Colin White, seven grandchildren and sister Nancy Lanz.
Nick loved the Lord and though we all will miss him terribly, he was ready. If he could say something to all of us, he would surely say, “Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m Free; I’m following the path GOD laid for me.”
Joan McCormick
Susan Reynhout
Joan McCormick passed peacefully on February 12, 2018, in Chandler, AZ, and went to be with her Lord at the age of 87.
Born in Bristol, PA, she was the oldest of three siblings born to John T. and Genevieve Bolton White. She went to school in Philadelphia and as a young woman, moved to New York City to break into the world of modeling. Her plans changed when she met a handsome young man and soon married and was off to California to raise a family.
Joan traveled the world and would later reside in Cincinnati; Long Beach, CA; Danville, CA; and, finally, her beloved desert home in Chandler, AZ.
Joan was a born entrepreneur. She opened her own store in Chicago and later went on to become a Diamond executive in several companies. She was always elegant and had an incredible sense of design and taste. Life brought her wisdom. But most important to her life was her relationship with her and Lord and Savior, Jesus. She was a prayer warrior and a loyal friend to the end. She had the gift of making you feel like you were the only person in her world when she listened to you. She will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her children and stepchildren Karin and Kevin MacDonald, Pamela McCormick, Debbie Blickley; 11 grandchildren and two great grandchildren; her brother Allen White; and will be especially missed by her niece Valerie White-Price. She was preceded in death by her first husband William J. MacDonald, Peter H. McCormick, her second husband and her dear stepson Peter H. McCormick, Jr.
A celebration of her life will be held on April 21 at 11:00 a.m. at Arizona Community Church, 9325 S. Rural Road, Tempe, AZ. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Young Life and Arizona Community Church.
Michael A Skibo
Michael A Skibo of Sun Lakes, Arizona, passed away on March 3, 2018, at his home surrounded by family and friends.
Mike was born on December 17, 1944, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. From an early age, Mike had a passion for airplanes and aerospace. He put together over 100 plastic model airplanes and flew balsa jets with Jetex fuel cartridges in high school. After high school, Mike went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, to study aeronautical engineering. Mike graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics. After college, Mike was hired by the Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington, where he began his career as a flight test engineer. In his 30-year career, Mike worked on the 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 commercial aircraft, as well as the 747 Space Shuttle Carrier, the YC-14 Military cargo aircraft and the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).
From 1970-1973 when Boeing was in a downturn, Mike worked at Lockheed Aircraft in Southern California on the L-1011 Tri-Star and the S-3A Viking before returning to Boeing in late 1973. In December of 1999, Mike accepted retirement from Boeing and embarked on a new chapter in his life marrying Janet A. Pickeral and moving to Michigan to start a new career at EDS Company supporting General Motors. In 2002, Mike fully retired and moved to Sun Lakes with wife Jan to begin a wonderful retirement where he played golf, traveled in their RV and cruised the world. While spending summers in the Seattle area, Mike loved to golf with friends and serve as a docent at the Historic Flight Foundation in Mukilteo, WA.
Mike will truly be missed by his family and friends and will be remembered as “a man who stood up tall and could do some things,” (his words). And, yes, he could do a lot of things and fix just about anything.
Mike was preceded in death by his first wife Claudia Jane Pickens and his sister Kathleen Skibo. Mike is survived by his second wife Jan Skibo, his sister Paula Thommen, his four children: Rebecca Chapman, Mike Jr., Jonathan and Rachel; and five grandchildren: Christian, Emma, Cade, Ava and Claudia.
There will be a Celebration of Life at the Oakwood Clubhouse in Sun Lakes from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 7.
In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation in Mike’s name to the Epic Christian Church, 5330 E. Skyline Drive, San Tan Valley, AZ 85140, or Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014.